Explaining the Floortime Model for Children with Autism

Each and every child on the autism spectrum has different social skills, different needs, and different levels of sensory perception. One method of working with children one-on-one to develop their potential is DIR/Floortime, developed by the late Dr. Stanley Greenspan. The Developmental Individual Difference, Relationship-based Model (DIR/Floortime) is "a systematic way of working with a child to help him climb the developmental ladder; it is the heart of the developmental approach to therapy. It takes a child back to the very first milestone he may have missed and begins the developmental process anew."

Floortime involves teachers, parents, and therapists, and up to eight one-on-one 20 to 30 minute sessions a day. For example, one child loved finding dinosaurs on the computer, but did not like to interact with his classmates. His teacher developed a way to used dinasaurs as a play choice during his math and reading time. This interaction translated into increased interaction with other children.